Can Group Programs Replace 1:1 Coaching?
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[00:00:00] A question I hear pretty often sounds something like, "Should I create a group program?" Or, "Are memberships replacing coaching?" Or, "Do I even need one-on-one anymore?"
And honestly, I think people sometimes frame it as which one's better. But I think the better question is which problem is each option actually solving? Because group programs and one-on-one are not identical. They solve different problems. So today, I wanna talk to you about what group programs actually do well, where they fall short, when one-on-one still makes sense, and how I think about this decision.
So first, why group programs sound so attractive. Group programs sound amazing, and I love them. I love teaching them and doing them. And you think more scalable, lower cost, more people help, less time, and sometimes those things are true. But sometimes people accidentally [00:01:00] assume that group is simply one-on-one multiplied, and it's not.
What group programs do well is that group programs work well when people need information, right? Like education, which many of our clients do, right? Framework, structure, accountability, community, and implementation support. So that could be meal planning basics. it could also be habit building. It might be something about infant feeding.
It could be performance nutrition, intuitive eating principles, weight loss, et cetera. but groups are great, right? When people have similar problems, which is why I love teaching groups to our clients and helping them get clear with their brand positioning so that they can sell a particular group and it really works, right?
Solving for IBS symptoms, et cetera, is a lot easier when you have a group and you've got people you're attracting with similar problems. Now, groups become harder when people need personalization beyond what the group sells, 'cause remember, groups are [00:02:00] information and community. Groups also become harder when there's high complexity, unique barriers, a lot of emotional processing, like with eating disorders, and complicated troubleshooting.
So if you have any complicated situations with people or if they've got, like IBD and maybe they're already really educated and the information that you're giving is beyond what they need the implementation and they've got questions about their labs, right? So if people have multiple overlapping problems and highly individualized strategies and needs, that's where the one-on-one can become more valuable.
So if you've got people who are beginners, typically, like newly diagnosed diabetic or performance nutrition and they don't really-- they have the exercise down, but they don't really understand the fueling piece, that can work for groups. But once they become, there's more, complications with their questions and their problems, that's where the one-on-one might be a better sell or an upsell.
So I want you to ask yourself, "Could I answer [00:03:00] this question once for twenty people?" And if yes, like many of us, then maybe the group really, could work But also one-on-one might work, too. So the mistake that I see is that people create groups because they want scalability, and that's true.
It's so true. But I also want you to ask, is this group, is, am I solving an actual problem that people have? And is this group really supporting their needs with education and community? 'Cause sometimes people do need a higher level of support, and sometimes people need more individualization, and they don't always need the community, and that's okay.
And sometimes people do want that community, and they don't want the content. So that's why I do think it can be helpful to sell groups and individual support and just be really clear who you're selling what for, and that's what I teach our clients, right? Maybe you have people start in a group program if they fit the criteria, and then you upsell them to one-on-one coaching for personalization.
And not all of them [00:04:00] will go into the personalized coaching, but it could be an option. So here's how I want you to think about it. Group and one-on-one are usually different tools. They're not competitors. They're just different. So questions I like to ask is the problem repetitive? Is the personalization low or high?
And those questions are gonna help you guide the decision about if you should create a group or one-on-one, and maybe you already have both, and that's fantastic. And if you do sell both, the question is just do you have clear criteria for who fits a group versus who fits coaching?
What's your strategy for your offers? So if my final thoughts are that group programs don't automatically replace coaching, but they can, but they don't automatically, and coaching does not automatically replace groups either. They can coexist. So it's not about which one is better. It's the goal is which tool matches the problem, and that is a more advanced way to think about your offers.
So I want you to do three things this week. The [00:05:00] first action I want you to take is ask, "What problem do I repetitively solve?" The second action would be to ask yourself, could I teach this once to multiple people? And the third action would be to stop asking what scales and start asking what actually fits the problem.
A lot of us get ahead of ourselves. So if you can fit the problem, you'll set yourself up for better systems to scale. And I actually think that's a better way to approach asking yourself, should I sell a group or one-on-one?
